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Alleged Australian people smuggler's passport cancelled

MICHAEL BRISSENDEN: We can't tell you his name, his country of origin, or his current location, such is the secrecy surrounding his case. But we do know is he's an Australian citizen who's considered such a threat to national security that his passport has been cancelled.

But the man is not suspected of joining Islamic State in Iraq or Syria. Instead ASIO (Australian Security Intelligence Organisation) believes he's a people smuggler.

The case has put the Government's national security laws in the spotlight, with one lawyer accusing ASIO of using them to avoid prosecuting suspects in open court.

Dan Oakes reports.

DAN OAKES: According to secret evidence tendered by ASIO, the man, referred to in the court by the pseudonym MYVC, is a wealthy, experienced people smuggler. And by the intelligence agency's reckoning that makes him a threat to national security.

MYVC's appeal against his passport cancellation was heard and dismissed in the Federal Administrative Appeals Tribunal recently and is now bound for the Federal Court.

Lawyer Stephen Blanks is the head of the New South Wales Council for Civil Liberties.

STEPHEN BLANKS: The extraordinary thing about it is it's not a case involving terrorism; it's a case involving people smuggling. So when the Government says that these powers are necessary to deal with the terrorist threat, that's actually quite misleading.

DAN OAKES: The legislation was actually altered, was it not, to encompass people smuggling as a threat to national security?

STEPHEN BLANKS: Certainly threats to border and territorial integrity were inserted into the definition of security in 2010 but it's not clear that people smuggling is within that definition or should be.

DAN OAKES: Although most details of the case have been suppressed, it emerged in court that the man arrived in Australia in 2002 and was granted citizenship in 2006. His wife and children are also Australian citizens, but the man spends most of his time apart from them in an unidentified foreign country.

STEPHEN BLANKS: As far as I'm aware there's been no attempt to have this individual charged with any criminal offence or extradited back to Australia so that he can face criminal charges here. Certainly in the past when people have been accused of people smuggling activities and they're overseas the Australian Government has taken steps to extradite them to Australia.

DAN OAKES: An ASIO agent with the pseudonym Alan Masling told the tribunal MYVC had been pleasant and co-operative during the three voluntary interviews ASIO conducted with him, but vehemently denied being a people smuggler.

The tribunal viewed some of ASIO's evidence in private, which it acknowledged made the job of the man's lawyer difficult. However it found the evidence convincing enough to dismiss the man's appeal.

STEPHEN BLANKS: Accusing somebody of people smuggling is accusing them of a criminal offence.

If they charged the person with the criminal offence they would have to produce evidence that could be revealed in open court and the accused would have his day in court to answer it. This way there is no idea of what the evidence is and the accused has no fair opportunity to answer the accusation.

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